Organize Your Paperwork and Put Everything in Writing...

You must organize your paperwork and put everything in writing if you want to successfully navigate your personal injury claim. Your insurance claim isn't an overnight process. There are a lot of things you'll need to keep track of and important documents you'll need to present as evidence.

Throughout negotiating your insurance settlement, you may have as much as two weeks between each communication.

In some cases the time delay can be even greater. This is why any good personal injury lawyer giving away free legal advice would tell you to organize your paperwork and put everything in writing.

Things you've put in writing so far are your letter of notification and your personal injury demand letter. This should be all the communication you've made with the insurance company before formal claim negotiations begin. If all goes well, you'll also have your medical records neatly organized and ready at your fingertips.

In that same file should be your collection of:

• witness statements
• police reports
• list of the evidence
• communications with the adjuster
• notes from phone conversations
• any other relevant documents

Keeping all these records neat and accessible is critical. You must be able to refer to any detail of your case instantly. If the adjuster ever questions your credibility, you want to be able to go straight to the page that proves you're being truthful.

Sometimes the insurance adjuster will contact you in writing. Simply read their letter carefully and file it away in the appropriate spot. If your dialogue takes place over the phone, be sure to take notes through the whole conversation.

After that, follow the same piece of free legal advice: request written confirmation of your conversation. It may be important later to be able to refer to an official letter confirming when you spoke to the adjuster and what was discussed.

If you made a demand during a phone call, it's a good idea for you to write the letter. In this confirmation letter state that you're confirming what was discussed in your conversation.

In your follow-up letter, you'll also give:

• a reminder of the date they promised to respond to you;
• the demand that was made in the phone conversation;
• a reference to any pertinent evidence; and
• a reference to your original demand letter.

You'll need to keep a copy of this letter for yourself, of course.

If your case should ever go to civil court, the paper trail you're creating will help you out immensely. And even if you don't go to court, it's a good idea to organize your paperwork and put everything in writing. Your obvious organization and knowledge of the process will impress the adjuster and win their respect.